Friday, August 24, 2018 20th Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Rev 21:9-14 Gospel: John 1:45-51
Philip found Natha nael and said to him, “We have found the one that Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets as well: he is Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, he said of him, “Here comes an Israelite, a true one; there is nothing false in him.” Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” And Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, you were under the fig tree and I saw you.”
Nathanael answered, “Master, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” But Jesus replied, “You believe because I said: ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ But you will see greater things than that. Truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE (Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
In today’s feast of St. Bartholomew, Nathanael takes center stage in the Gospel narrative written by John. It is only in the Gospel of John that the name Nathanael appears. Incidentally, nowhere in the Gospel of John do we read the name Batholomew. This is one detail that led scholars to believe that Bartholomew is a description. It comes from the words “Bar” (“son of”) and “Ptolemy”. The full name of Nathanael could have been Nathanael, son of Ptolemy.
Today’s Gospel presents the conversation between Phillip and Nathanael about Jesus. In the time of Jesus, rivalry between towns was common. The rivalry between Nazareth and Cana explains why Nathanael who was from Cana dismissed Phillip’s claim that the Messiah was from Nazareth.
But Nathanael’s bias did not last. When Jesus told him that he was a true Israelite, his heart melted. Nathanael found it unusual for a man to remark about a person in that manner at first glance. The turning point of Nathanael was when Jesus told him: “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” To an Israelite, a fig tree was symbol of peace. Nathanael must have been praying often under the fig tree asking God to reveal the promised messiah. When Jesus said he saw him under the fig tree, Nathanael must have told himself: Here is finally the one who knew my thoughts and aspirations.
But Jesus showed Nathanael that he could do more than read thoughts. Making reference to Genesis 28: 12, 13 Jesus said: “You will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” It was as if to tell him: “Far from reading minds, I can be that ladder where you can go ascending and descending to heaven. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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